The Art of Studying Social Media. & Goodbye to Fellow Bloggers.
Photo: Waving goodbye.
When it comes to social media, people may say that it can have many different definitions based on their personal agendas. Social media may have different definitions, but when you take the opportunity to study the foundation of social networks, such as from a postsecondary level of education, like studying the social media program at Algonquin College, you get the opportunity to learn the true default definition of social media. It’s time to say goodbye to the old definition of social media that ‘’it varies based on your agenda’’ and say hello to what social media actually is. Also, a special goodbye to colleagues and the teacher of the introduction to social media class, as we got the opportunity to collaborate and analyze the true definition of social media together.
For example, someone on Quora asked, “What is a short definition of social media?” Many users responded with many different definitions of social media without a clear, short response because social media requires research and deeper knowledge to truly understand the true definition of social media.
What is the true definition of social media?
The true definition of social media is that social media is the interaction among people to exchange information in virtual networks with the default ROI (return on investment) being engagement, and that everyone automatically represents a personal brand whether they are aware of it or not.
What makes social media addictive?
•Social media benefits when it comes to the internet are ROI, such as investment to feel more connected to what matters to you, or money investments, or to boost egos, or normal engagement. The second feeding link to social media addictiveness is SEO, which is to promote personal branding. ROI and SEO are the two building blocks for everything that is happening on social media.
Photo: Addictive Social Media (Singh)
As the default definition of social media is associated with the ROI of engagement. People automatically engage by either creating or sharing contents, whether for business-related or personal agendas. In return, everyone hopes that their contents will always reach their customers or their friends and family. Therefore, no matter what agendas you have on social media, the default ROI will always be engagement. For people who find themselves being addictive to social media, the best practice would be to acknowledge your ROI, meaning the reason why you are using social media, and then create multiple ways to get your ROI outside of social media instead of focusing on and relying on one platform.
Did you know art can reduce stress, and improve your mood?
Photo: Amazing art by Erika Farkas.
As this is a special blog on the topic of recaps and goodbyes, I enjoyed being part of the online Introduction to Social Media course, in which I also got the opportunity to view amazing artwork by Erika Farkas (https://erikafarkas.com/). Art allows us to see the world in a new and different way, and it brings people together. Now with the presence of social media, I will have the opportunity to subscribe and to follow Erika Farkas amazing art on social media.
Unique points of view on different types of engagement and personal branding styles on social media can be found below, published by my colleagues. These topics are essential for people to deeply understand social media engagement.
- Tips on Building a Social Media Community
- How Authors Promote Books through Social Media
- Best Time to post on Social Media
- 5 Tips for Promoting Art on Instagram
- Influencers: Authentic Inspiration or Marketing Ploy
- Father’s Day Anxiety
- Finding My Tribe
- Fake! Fake! Fake! Be smart and break a Fake!
- Celebrities on Social Media
According to Statista, there were around 4.48 billion social media users worldwide in 2022, with growth expected to continue in the future. By 2030, researchers expect that the number of social media users will exceed 5.5 billion, accounting for a sizable share of the global population. On the other hand, in the future, the definition of social media could yet again change. For instance, Facebook now has video games on its platform and dating features.
Photo: Personal branding. (Vowels, 2024)
The power of SEO. SEO is the process of optimizing your network platforms and content to boost your exposure in search results. Therefore, as social media continues to grow, it is becoming a default that everyone has social media accounts, even when not actively using them, people create accounts just for the purpose of SEO, so that they could lead the researcher to where they want to lead them. For instance, if there’s two great candidates for a job opportunity and one of them uses social media and the other doesn’t, if the employer decides to search for the names of the two candidates on the internet and their social media comes up, if it turns out that the person who has social media’s personal branding matches the job description, it is most likely that the person with social media may get the job instead of the person for whom they could not find any valuable examples of their personal branding style. That is why now people may create social media accounts and post only 10 to 20 posts promoting their personal brand; never use the account again, but leave it open just to lead the researchers to what they are looking for. SEO is the main feeding link when it comes to competitions on the internet because everyone wants their SEO to be unique.
Now that we say goodbye to the old definition of social media and, as we know, the current true definition of social media is that its default ROI is engagement and everyone automatically has personal branding, are you confident and align with your personal branding? Once again, thank you and goodbye, colleagues. It was a pleasure to participate in these amazing blogs defining social media in spring 2024.
My personal opinion can be found on VSCO and Twitter below.
VSCO: https://tinyurl.com/28xnchf2
Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/mr2fa63m
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 